Ali oldman- Nope, not the end yet, one more chapter to go!!
Jake- I'm glad you didn't read the original fic, because this one came out so much better! I hope you read my new LG fic coming out in the next month!
Sarahyyy- Thanks for helping me to go over the 100 mark with the reviews! The kissing in the rain scene has been done before, but I just love the thought of a wet!Gordo (remember the pool scene?). lol
Hopeful.Light.Takari- I'm glad you liked my story- let me know if you turned up any good stories on your hunt- I've been looking for a while and can't find many good ones!
sivchik- I love the word always too! I felt like it had a little more umph than the simple- I love you- and I was worried that it was too cliché for the rain scene, but I am glad that it came out alright!
Dario8676- I knew that it has been something that has been done before- but I couldn't resist- I've always wanted to write a scene in the rain!
mitchel-musso-lver- I'm glad you thought the chapter was sparkly (with the and everything). And you are right- Gordo does love her a lot!
andy- I hope you had a good time at your party even though you were late- I'm glad you liked it enough to be late though!
YaDoDOBird- I love reading fics in a computer lab undercover in class- however it always has me looking over my shoulder to see if I'll get caught!
Neithan- I don't think your first review ever went through- musta been a technical glitch- anyways thanks for the review! Did you get my last e-mail I sent you? Were you ever able to look at that story?
KittyDoggyLover- I'm so glad you thought it was perfect (no chapter ever seems perfect to an author)!
popkornchicken- Wow, thank you so much- I hope to see more of your reviews in the future as well!!
Chapter 12- Back to the Beginning
Her cell phone rang twice before she rolled over and snatched it off the charger. "Hello?" she whispered sleepily into the receiver, her hair falling into her face and eyes half open. After hearing the voice on the other end however, her face changed dramatically. The change began with her eyes, which opened wide and began to sparkle with excitement as she listened to the voice on the other end and ended with her mouth curving into a wide grin.
The person on the other end of the phone hung up before she had a chance to respond and it wasn't long before she pulled back her comforter, was up out of bed and brushing her hair frantically. Sliding her feet into her shoes and pulling on her winter coat she checked the time: 1:45 am. She checked her reflection one last time before heading over to her window and slipping her head through. On a second thought, she pulled herself back in and grabbed a mint from her purse, which she shoved hastily into her mouth.
Getting out the window proved tricky, because she was a little bigger now and this job required a little more agility than she remembered. But, she made it onto the roof and swiftly moved over to the corner by getting down on her hands and knees. While she crawled, she shivered, hearing the wind rustle a tree softly that was illuminated by a pool of white light from a nearby lamppost.
She made it to the spot and sat down, swiftly swinging her legs to hand over the side. Without even looking she placed her foot down below and felt his hand, already held up waiting for her to arrive. Holding tightly to the roof Lizzie felt herself being lowered by a strong pair of hands from down below, eliciting a strong jolt in her stomach. He held her tightly against him, switching his hands from her legs to her hips and she grabbed a hold of his shoulders as she was lowered. Softly he touched her feet to the ground with a huge grin on his face.
"Surprise" he whispered.
She smiled broadly and captured his mouth with a kiss. At first she meant for it to be a peck but found her hands traveling up to land in his short curly locks and the kiss intensifying. Leaning up against him she pressed against his chest and found she had him pinned to the wall of her garage. His hands on her hips crossed up her back slowly and Lizzie inched a little closer to his body, deepening the kiss even further.
"Miss me much?" Gordo murmured as Lizzie broke the kiss and began to attack his neck with her lips. She planted small kisses up his neck, focusing on his ear for a moment before taking his jaw line back towards his mouth. Just at the moment that she was going to recover his lips with her own she heard the unmistakable sound of water rushing through the pipes of her house, sending ice cold fear through her limbs.
She looked up and saw that the light in her parents bathroom, a mere 20 feet away from where they were standing, was on. She and Gordo hastily ducked underneath a bush, making a racket in the process. They were still holding on to each other as they stared up at the light.
If the light in their bedroom goes on, she thought, I'm dead. But if the bathroom goes out, then I'm homefree. Lizzie held her breath.
After what seemed like an eternity, the light went out and both Lizzie and Gordo let out a sigh of relief. They waited an extra minute or two, just to be safe, while allowing their heartbeats to slow down. They both quietly stood up as Gordo smiled and held out his hand to her which she gladly accepted. The pair, still breathing heavily, ran swiftly up the street, knowing exactly where to go.
They didn't speak until they reached the deserted playground. It was a place they both knew just as well in the dark as they knew in the daytime. Once they got there Gordo placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her behind the swings, where she gasped when she saw that he had already set up his telescope, blanket and candles.
She was still standing there with her mouth wide open as he leaned into whisper into her ear, "Happy 6 months."
"I thought you had an exam tomorrow" she said, still in shock.
"Nope" he said, "I finished my last one up at 6 and was home in time for dinner."
"So you lied to me then huh?" she said coyly.
"Well, it was all for a good cause" he said, brushing her hair away from her face, letting his hand linger down her cheek. He studied her face for a moment and suddenly brought his other hand to her hair and pulled a leaf out of it. "Now Lizzie" he said, "What did I tell you about making out in the bushes with the milkman?"
She laughed, "I'll try and work on that in the future, but sometimes I just can't help myself, those milkmen are so tempting."
"How did your last exam go?" he questioned seriously.
"Really well, I think I made the grades I'm going to need to transfer next semester" she said, unable to contain her excitement. She had enrolled at the local community college and taken a few introductory courses there and had already applied to transfer to San Diego State University, which was a mere 20 minutes from Gordo's campus.
"Even Calculus?" he questioned elatedly, continuing to hold her close.
"Yup" she said, "Those late night phone conversations explaining derivatives really did help."
"That's great," he said, "I have news too."
"What?" she asked.
"One of my short movies won for best short documentary at the film festival last night" he said with a grin.
"Was it that environmental one?" Lizzie asked excitedly.
He nodded and Lizzie gave him another hug before they both sat down on the blanket. "So find Orion for me" he said jokingly, wrapping an arm around her waist as they both leaned back to lie down and stare up at the sky.
She laughed and inched closer to him, leaning herself in the nook of his shoulder and placing a hand on his chest. "Oh! Miranda says hi" she remembered, "I talked to her tonight, she's been on Christmas break for about a week now."
"What day is her flight getting here again?" he asked.
"On the 26th" she said, clearly excited, "I can't wait to see her again."
"How is she?"
"She had a good semester, but she really missed her family from being so far from home" Lizzie said, reaching one of her hands up to play with Gordo's hair.
"Yeah, I got that feeling from her when we talked before the hibernation period of finals set in" he said.
There was a pause and they Lizzie shut her eyes, enjoying the moment, feeling Gordo's arms wrapped protectively around her and the cool night air on her face. "I can't believe it's been 6 months" she sighed, continuing to play with his curls. She couldn't see his face but she knew that he had one of his usual Gordo grins on it. "Have I mentioned that I love your hair?" she murmured, now moving her hand to begin massaging his scalp.
"Hmm…" he said, obviously enjoying this, "I do believe I might have heard that once or twice."
"Well it's true" she whispered, wriggling her body up so she could get her face closer.
"Well, my hair says it loves you too" he whispered, trying to be offended .
She laughed and said, "You know, there is one more thing that I love."
He leaned his head over to her face, "What is that?"
"Gordo, I thought we already established that I'm having a love affair with the milkman." She said lightly, trying not to laugh. "You're going to need to keep up with me here."
"Ah yes, I forgot" he smiled.
She looked at him and her eyebrows crinkled. "Hey" a thought just occurring to her, "What time did your last exam get over again?"
"6?" he said nervously, avoiding her face. He was never able to lie to her.
"And you were back in Hillridge for dinner?" she asked, "What time was that?"
"Um… I don't really remember…" he mumbled, turning to look back into the night sky.
"Yeah…right" she said, grabbing his chin and pulling his face to hers.
"Okay, okay" he said, admitting defeat, "…7:30…" he mumbled.
"7:30!" she exclaimed, "Gordo! It takes at well over 2 hours to get to San Diego from here! How fast were you going?"
"Have I mentioned that I love you?" he asked, wrapping her tightly in a hug.
"Uh Uh- You're not pulling that card Gordon" she said stubbornly, pushing him away from her chest. He held on to her tightly though, and she was struggling to loosen his grip. "The highways around the city are dangerous, what if you had gotten hurt?" She continued to hassle him while she pushed against his grip.
Finally he let her move back so he could face her but still kept a tight hold on her shoulders, "Do you always have to fight me?" he asked calmly.
"Yes" Lizzie said, sticking out her chin.
He stared at her, his gaze traveling over her face. Lizzie found her composure lessening as she became lost in his light blue eyes. He leaned in so their faces were inches apart and Lizzie found she could do nothing more than stare back. "What were you mad about again?" he whispered.
Her mind was completely blank. "Not a clue…" she trailed off as he leaned in even closer. He placed a sweet kiss on her lips and Lizzie smiled. He leaned his forehead against hers and they both closed their eyes.
Suddenly Lizzie had one of those moments, where she realized how different things were from a year ago. A year ago, I was probably at rehearsal, probably trying to think of a way to convince Jay to let me go to some party that I wouldn't have fun at… she thought, letting her mind wander. A year ago, I never even talked to Gordo… We lost so much time… She opened her eyes and looked at him. His eyes were closed peacefully and she wondered what he was thinking about. Well, I'll just have to make up for that, she thought determinedly.
"Thank you…" Lizzie whispered after a moment.
"For what?" he whispered back.
"For everything…"
Keeping his forehead firmly pressed to hers he grinned and wrapped his arms a little tighter around her. "It was my pleasure…"
the end
...
Note to all: Thanks for reading my story!!! I'm so pleased with how this story has turned out, it is so much better than the first time I wrote it and I am so glad that you have liked it as well. I am planning on putting out a smaller story sometime next month- at the moment I am thinking it will be called "Progression of the Inevitable." It will be an incredibly sweet story picking up sometime after Rome and should be 4 chapters long. After that I am planning on putting up a HUGE story, but we'll get there after I finish the next story. Also, if you have never reviewed before (because I know you are out there!)- thanks for reading my story even if I've never heard from you before, I still appreciate it!!